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Interview skills, Asking for feedback in job interviews

If you have had exposure to the job market and you are not getting the proper results, ask the source for some feedback to help evaluate your interview skills.

If you have been in the market for a job for any time at all and if you have had several phone interviews or personal interviews and still are not getting offers, you may wonder what you are doing wrong.

Like most people, you have probably changed your resume, your cover letter, and your references and even changed your clothes for interviews and nothing seems to be helping. You may even feel like you are driving into a gale force hurricane and you just keep getting pushed backwards.

No matter what, you can’t give up hope. Finding a job in today’s tight job market is much more difficult than it was just ten years ago.

If you are already getting interviews but are not getting called back, you need to take a closer look at your interview style. One of the easiest ways to evaluate your interview skills is to get some feedback from the source.

The Interview Scheduler

The first and often times the easiest method of receiving feedback from an interview is by contacting the interview organizer. Most companies use their HR department or an outside employment agency to coordinate and schedule interviews. When you are first called for an interview, make sure you get that person’s name and number.

Wait several days after the interview and then contact this person and ask them for feedback. If this person is reluctant try to reassure them that you are only interested in improving your skills. Ask them to provide you with some generalizations about the interview feedback like too experienced, not strong in a particular area or any other tidbits they might provide that will help you improve.
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The 7 deadly sins of resumé design

So you’ve labored with sweat and tears writing your resumé, and now you’re all set to turn it into a magnificently designed creation. Unfortunately, with the freedom of modern computers and fancy software, comes huge opportunities for abuse. When it comes to resumés, both non-designers and professional designers commit some almost unforgivable sins. Here are the 7 deadly sins of resumé design and how to repent:

1. Fancy “resumé” paper
2. Times New Roman
3. Teeny tiny font size
4. Grey text
5. Excessive decoration
6. Weird paper size
7. Horizontal format

1. Fancy “resumé” paper

Take a tour of any office supply store and you’ll see shelves of extravagant “resumé” papers featuring special “linen” and “parchment” finishes. Avoid these like dog poop on a New York summer sidewalk. They’re too expensive and don’t make you look extra special.

To repent: Save your money and get paper with a plain smooth finish. It can be slightly heavier than regular copy paper, but not stiff as a board. An ever so slight hint of cream is fine. It’ll make your resume easier on the eyes than the super-ultra-pure-snow-driven white paper many designers are fond of. I prefer Neenah Classic Crest in Natural White with a Super Smooth finish. Never ever use pink paper with strawberry scent.
2. Times New Roman

The default typeface in Microsoft Word is Times New Roman, and thus it’s the default for most resumés. It’s a tragedy, because Times’s letterspacing and wordspacing is wretched in Word. The result is an unharmonious mess.

To repent: Choose a different typeface. I won’t go into explaining x-heights or the difference between Humanist Sans and Geometric Sans. If you’ve got money to spare, pick any of the typefaces in FontShop’s professional collection, and you’ll be a step above Times New Roman. If you’re cheap, use Matthew Carter’s Georgia. It’s free and already installed on your computer. If you send your resumé electronically as a PDF, it also looks quite good on-screen. If you need more guidance, check out Before & After’s tutorial on picking typefaces.
3. Teeny tiny font size

Designers fresh out of school love teeny tiny type. The belief is that it looks elegant, refined, and allows for more white space on the resumé. It’s a shame. For all that elegance, no one can read it, because most people in hiring positions won’t have fresh baby eyes with 20/20 vision.

To repent: Set your resumé no smaller than 9 points for sans-serifed type and 10 points for serifed type. Anything smaller, and your resumé is at risk of being shredded.
4. Grey text

Designers also love grey type. On an inkjet printer, grey text looks better because it reduces the appearance of noise. If you go too light, though, it becomes illegible and unfaxable. But wait, should you really be using inkjet to print your resumé?

To repent: Use a laser printer and print in 100% black for ultimate clarity. If you do go grey, don’t go lighter than 75% black.
5. Excessive decoration

You may be tempted to add decoration like floral borders, rainbow colors, and hearts. Perhaps, you want to use an illustration of a swan, tiger or unicorn to represent you. This is great if you want to look like a box of crayons melted on your resumé. Otherwise, don’t try to be cute.

To repent: Add some character by setting your name slightly larger, or in a different weight as the same typeface as the rest of your resumé. Use color, but very sparingly, if at all. No more than one color in addition to black.
6. Weird paper size

If you live in the United States, the standard paper size is 8.5 x 11in. In Europe, it’s 210 x 297mm. Anything else will fit awkwardly in a binder or file. When it doesn’t fit, it gets thrown out.

To repent: Keep to the standard paper size of your geographic location. It’s easier to print and package.

7. Horizontal format

In an attempt to stand out, some designers format their resumés in a landscape format. This is more annoying than innovative.

To repent: Keep to a portrait format. The first person who sees your resumé is usually a Human Resources person who sees hundreds of resumes daily. Too much variation from the norm makes it harder for them to make a quick assessment of you. If you want to stand out, write a good cover letter instead.

Sorry, no one’s reading that resume you sent

Baffled because you nailed the qualifications for a job and never heard a word? Peeved because you blew an entire weekend polishing your resume? Here’s the likely truth: No one ever saw it.

“The first thing that job seekers have to get over is that it’s not personal,” says Gerry Crispin, a recruiting technology expert. “The chance when you apply for a job that someone actually sees your resume is probably less than 5 percent.”

Less than a decade ago, job applicants obsessed over whether to craft their curriculum vitae on white or ivory paper and which font would project authority without pretense. Then there was the question of whether to play fast and loose and let it spill onto a second page.

The idea was to impress someone in a suit at a desk.

Now, you must “impress” a computer programmed to eliminate you.

And while the goal is to lighten the load on humans in human resources, executive recruiter Susan Smith says today’s hiring hoops frustrate firms as much as applicants.

“The Internet is wonderful, but it’s this giant blob of information that corporate recruiters have to deal with. The whole process has become overwhelming.

“They have to weed through e-mails and attachments and online resumes and paper resumes and job boards on the Web.

“There are too many people applying for too many jobs in too many ways.”

That being said, networking (as in talking to folks, not linking computer systems) is the best strategy for boosting your rank.

“Never, ever apply without first getting someone in the company to refer you,” says Crispin, who analyzes how businesses recruit online. “One out of every three hires has been referred by an employee.

“If you don’t know someone in the company, stand outside the door at 5 o’clock and accost people as they come out,” he says, only half joking.

“We live in a networked world, and if you haven’t heard of MySpace or an alumni directory or a professional association, then you’ve obviously been living in a cave. And there’s not a big market for cave men.”

At most large companies, resumes land in a database after being received via e-mail; through the firm’s Web site; from an Internet job board, or, in the case of a paper resume, after being scanned.

Hiring managers set up a search request to sniff out keywords, such as those used in the job description, along with other identifying factors. For example, the desired accounting candidate must be a Vanderbilt grad with a grade-point average above 3.5 who now lives in ZIP code 27858.

So although you may be the brightest CPA in your firm and your mom’s favorite child, your resume will plummet to the bottom of the virtual pile if you’re not a dead-on match — or close to it. And, in most instances, you’ll never know why.
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Tips to get a job fast

Pinpoint your ideal position and what it will take to land it. Know your skills, pay needs and learn about the employer.

Just started looking for a job? Mark your calendar for January, because that should be just about when you will start your new gig.

No joke. The U.S. Department of Labor reports it takes the average American about four months to find a job. January is four months away.
So what if you could slash months from that search and be sitting thankful around Thanksgiving with a new job?

You already have some positive job search karma on your side.
Unemployment is low — 4.7 percent. And companies nationwide are hiring at an active pace, with 28 percent of employers saying they will add workers to their payrolls through December, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. In Indianapolis, 33 percent say they will hire more.
Of course, unemployment rates and hiring are out of your control, but there are some things you can do. Take note of these five tips to quickly get the job you want.

Dedicate yourself.
The average job seeker spends fewer than 15 hours a week looking for a job and in the end gets two job interviews, says Michael Farr, author of “The Very Quick Job Search.”

If you are serious about finding the right job, you have to be willing to invest the time. If you don’t have a job now, make your career search a 40-hour-a-week assignment. If you do, spend nights and weekends doing the research. The more openings you find, the more resumes you send, the more interviews you will get.
“The bottom line is that people who spend more time on their job search will usually get jobs faster,” Farr says.
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Interviewing Tip — Make First Impressions Impressive

Looks aren’t everything but image matters, especially when meeting a potential employer for the first time. Fair or not, many interviewers judge a person’s ability and intelligence based on his/her appearance. Here are seven tips on how to make a great first impression on the interviewer.

1. Mind your manners. First impressions start the moment you arrive. Be courteous with the security guard, receptionist and any other gatekeepers. They are watching you from the moment you enter the premises so be on your best behavior. Make a great first impression with a friendly smile, firm handshake and confident posture and a well groomed appearance.

2. Travel light. Remove all studs from your nose, lip, tongue and eyebrows. I hired an artist who had half a dozen rings in his eyebrow, but another employer might not have been able to see past the hardware. Don’t let the metal detector take you out of the running for a job.

3. Look sharp, but be comfortable. Make sure your clothes are clean and unwrinkled and your hair looks neat. Wear a hairstyle that doesn’t hide your face.

Try to find out what the company culture is before the interview. If you have a friend who works at the company you are applying to, ask him/her for advice on what to wear. You can also try visiting the work site before the interview and see what people are wearing when they leave for lunch. Always dress a little nicer than you would if you already had the job.

Many artists wonder what to wear to an interview. You won’t go wrong with a jacket, collared shirt, slacks and closed-toed polished shoes. Avoid wearing all black by wearing a colorful shirt/blouse or tie. One artist I hired at a videogame company wore a three-piece navy blue suit to the interview. He looked gorgeous and well put-together and ready to work at a bank. He explained that he had just come from another interview at an advertising firm. It’s better to err on the side of overdress than underdress. Imagine if he had the videogame interview first, dressed in the jeans, swag t-shirt and laceless sneakers of that industry, then had arrived for the advertising interview in the same outfit. He wouldn’t have got past the door.
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Being fired doesn’t mean the end of your career

As if getting fired wasn’t rough enough, what are you supposed to write in the box “Reason for leaving” when filling out an application for a new job? Ignoring the question seems suspicious, but penning a detailed essay about why your former boss is such a jerk isn’t a very professional approach either.

According to Bill Wells, managing director of Lee Hecht Harrison’s Southern California offices, you have options.

“A simple way to address this challenge without having it overshadow your qualifications is to write, ‘Prefer to explain in interview‘ or ‘Mutual employment termination,’” said Wells. “This may open the door to a slew of questions, but at least you’ll have the opportunity to address them personally.”

Once you’re in an interview, the worst thing you can do is flatout lie. Tell the truth, but only if you’re asked.

“Keep your answers short and to the point. Don’t make excuses for yourself or criticize your former employer or company,” said Wells.

That’s why you should tell your side of the story as you see fit. The interviewer doesn’t need to know all the details of your termination. And as the interviewee, your goal is to move past the topic and onto why you’d be perfect for the job you’re applying for now.
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Building job relationships best way to get foot in door

Baffled because you nailed the qualifications for a job and never heard a word? Peeved because you blew an entire weekend polishing your résumé? Here’s the likely truth: No one ever saw it.

“The first thing that job seekers have to get over is that it’s not personal,” says Gerry Crispin, a recruiting technology expert. “The chance when you apply for a job that someone actually sees your résumé is probably less than 5 percent.”

Less than a decade ago, job applicants obsessed over whether to use white or ivory paper for a résumé.

Now, you must “impress” a computer programmed to eliminate you.

And while the goal is to lighten the load on humans in human resources, executive recruiter Susan Smith says today’s hiring hoops frustrate firms as much as applicants.

“The Internet is wonderful, but it’s this giant blob of information that corporate recruiters have to deal with. The whole process has become overwhelming. They have to weed through e-mails and attachments and online résumés and paper résumés and job boards on the Web.

“There are too many people applying for too many jobs in too many ways.”

That being said, networking (as in talking to folks, not linking computer systems) is the best strategy for boosting your rank.

“Never, ever apply without first getting someone in the company to refer you,” says Crispin, who analyzes how businesses recruit online. “One out of every three hires has been referred by an employee.

“We live in a networked world, and if you haven’t heard of MySpace or an alumni directory or a professional association, then you’ve obviously been living in a cave.”

Hiring managers set up an online search request to sniff out keywords, such as those used in the job description, along with other identifying factors. For example, the desired accounting candidate must be a Vanderbilt grad with a grade-point average above 3.5 who now lives in ZIP code 27858.

Kathryn Troutman runs The Résumé Place in Baltimore, Md., and wrote The Federal Résumé Guidebook. “I analyze the target announcement and look for the top five to seven skills: Adviser, briefing manager, project manager, PowerPoint developer and so forth.

“Then I look at the résumé. If the résumé doesn’t hit the top skills, the applicant basically missed the point because they didn’t read the announcement close enough. I teach people how to integrate the skills into their résumé so it will come up in the system.”
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Express your femininity with seriously stylish looks for the office

Yahoo! HotJobs teamed with Banana Republic to conduct a survey about workplace fashion, and some of the most interesting results were about interviews.

More than 25% of 900 human resource recruiters, representing all 50 states, said that wearing a business suit to an interview at their company could be too formal.

“What we found is that there’s a new generation of companies that understand that comfort equals productivity. They’re fostering a casual environment to generate great business results,” says Susan Vobejda, HotJobs’ career expert.

But that doesn’t mean the interview outfit should be an afterthought. Sixty percent of the recruiters suggested that candidates spend at least 30 minutes choosing their clothes for the interview. Hitting the balance between professional and casual takes effort, Vobejda says. “One thing to understand is that casual doesn’t equal sloppy. You want to avoid sloppy or sexy at all costs.”

If you’re unsure about the dress code of a company, ask your human resources contact.

Once you get the job, one-third of recruiters believe that dressing like the boss is a good way to advance, and 73% think employees would be more respected by bosses if they dressed like they do.

Work clothes aren’t nearly as much fun as play clothes. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be stylish. This season, plenty of good looks go beyond the suit-pantyhose-and-pumps uniform.

“The working girl is always on my mind. It’s the same girl this season: She’s active, in charge of her life and she’s in the driving seat,” says Diane von Furstenberg, who named her fall collection “Working Girl.”

Women who want to be taken seriously don’t have to sacrifice personal style, but they do have to think about how they want to present themselves. The same goes for women who aren’t working traditional jobs, such as stay-at-home mothers.

None of these women has to try to look like a man.

“I think the whole concept of dressing for work has evolved tremendously. It’s not about masculine pants and men’s shirts, but it’s not bohemian, either. It’s about a well-cut pantsuit and a feminine blouse, or a camisole with a little lace or a tunic top under a jacket,” says Nicole Fischelis, fashion director of Macy’s East.

That said, Fischelis notes that menswear touches — pinstripes and glen plaids, in particular — are not only OK for stylish women, they’re also a trend. The key is making sure the overall look is soft. “We’re feminizing and modernizing the whole concept of suiting.”

An example? Try a velvet jacket or even a leather jacket in a blazer style with tailored trousers.

Skirts and dresses are still fine. “They’re so strong because the shoe business is so strong, and women want to show off their shoes,” Fischelis says.

Von Furstenberg’s collection is driven by dresses, her signature wraps and shirtdresses. “A shirtdress is the equivalent to the blue suit for a man,” she says.

At Banana Republic, executive vice president of design Deborah Lloyd says the big winner is the black pencil skirt. “It works for every situation.”

Five Tips for Writing a Tailored Thank-You

For job candidates seeking an edge, sending interviewers a customized thank-you is critical.

“You’re helping to jog their memories of you,” says Heather Hamilton, staffing programs manager for marketing and finance at Microsoft Corp. Recruiters typically interview several candidates for a position, she explains, noting that in one week, she might meet with 10 applicants.

Simply sending a thank-you isn’t enough to stand out from the competition, adds Frank Heller, recruiting manager at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. in New York. He estimates that 90% of the candidates he interviews make the effort, while only about half personalize their letters.

Here are five tips to help you write a tailored thank-you.

1. Proofread beyond spelling and grammar.

If you’re interviewing with several employers, check that each thank-you shows the correct company and recruiter name, advises Theresa Lenczewski, a human resources specialist for New York-based international advertising agency JWT, a unit of WPP Group PLC. She sometimes receives thank-yous addressed to competitors, a gaffe she says costs candidates a second interview. “The positions I recruit for involve a lot of corresponding with clients through e-mail, so paying attention to detail is very important,” she explains.

2. Reiterate your best qualities.

“I’ve had candidates get lost in the shuffle, only to rediscover them when I received thank-you notes that restated their strong points,” says Kevin A. Mercuri, associate vice president at 5W Public Relations, a New York-based agency. “A thank-you is literally the last chance candidates have to sell themselves to an employer.” A candidate for a senior account-executive job once sent him a letter restating her connections with editors at trade publications that Mercuri frequently pitches. “I forgot about that and it immediately put her at the top of the list again,” he says.

3. Show off your listening skills

In 2003, a candidate for a position at ADT Security Services Inc. included a photocopied article from a trade magazine in his thank-you to Michael Esposito, then vice president of human resources for the Boca Raton, Fla.-based security services company. “It spoke to the very issue we talked about in the interview,” he says. “It told me that this person really was focused on what was going on in our conversation and that he was really serious about the opportunity.”
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10 ways to get the most pay out of your job

A lot of people assume that more pay can come only from winning a promotion, or finding a new job elsewhere. But there are ways, large and small, to put more money in your pocket each week. Separately, these strategies may not be enough to change your life. But put several together, and they start adding up.

“It’s nickels and dimes that can get you to a dollar,” says Alan Johnson, managing director of Johnson & Associates, a New York pay consultant. “A thousand here and there can add up to real money.”

Here are 10 tips from compensation experts, human-resources managers and employees on how to beef up your pay.

1. LISTEN TO YOUR BOSS

You may work harder than the people around you, but your annual raise and bonus award may still be lower than theirs. That’s because your co-workers are getting more of the right things done than you and making sure their boss is aware of it.

“To say it concisely, the main way to increase your paycheck is to do a good job and make sure the right people know about it,” says Craig Schneier, executive vice president, human resources, for Biogen Idec Inc., a Cambridge, Mass., pharmaceutical company.

The best performers received raises averaging 9.9 percent in 2005, compared with 3.6 percent for average performers and 1.3 percent for poor performers, according to a survey by Hewitt Associates, a consulting firm in Lincolnshire, Ill. Thanks to compounding, those differences translate into a lot of money over time.

Hewitt offers the example of three hypothetical employees, each hired in 2001 at a salary of $50,000. They then received salary increases related to their performance. After five years, the poor performer earns $52,807, the average performer makes $57,821, and the top performer earns $72,078. (Hewitt calculated the final salaries based on actual increases for the three types of performance since 2001.)

What’s more, don’t assume you know what your manager expects, and don’t be afraid to ask. You must understand exactly what he or she thinks is outstanding performance in your position, says Laury Sejen, practice director of strategic rewards for Watson Wyatt, a global compensation consulting firm.

Have two meetings with your manager, she advises. At the first, ask how you can earn the maximum amount of pay over time at your company. This can tell you what career goals to shoot for. At the second, ask how you can receive the highest salary increase.

“Some organizations struggle to set objectives,” says Ms. Sejen. “You can take the responsibility to have it clarified.”

Write down what you both agreed to and give your boss a copy, says Steve Gross, head of rewards consulting in Philadelphia for Mercer HR Consulting. At the end of the year, you can use this list to discuss how well you performed against your goals.

“Now you both have a scorecard for the performance review, which makes it easier for your boss to recognize your performance,” Mr. Gross says.

You don’t have to brag to get a top-dollar raise. Simply citing your accomplishments will set you apart “because a lot of people don’t take the time to do it,” says Paul Dorf, managing director of Compensation Resources Inc., an Upper Saddle River, N.J., consulting firm. He adds that if you have no significant contributions to list, “you probably shouldn’t be seeking more money.”

2. BET ON YOURSELF

Having a bonus tied to performance goals and hitting them can get you more money annually. More than 95 percent of companies offer a chance to earn annual bonuses to executives, while 80 percent offer them to managers, 68 percent have plans for professionals and 54 percent award them to clerical and technical workers, according to Mercer HR.

Target bonus awards vary by industry and company type, but a typical bonus for an employee earning $50,000 might be 10 percent of salary, while someone earning $75,000 in salary might have a 15 percent target bonus and a $100,000-a-year employee might have a 20 percent target, Hewitt reports.

The key to receiving more bonus money is superior performance. If you meet your goals, you should receive your target bonus amount. But at some companies, if you exceed the targets set for you, you may receive an award that exceeds your target bonus. At Biogen Idec, for instance, high-performing employees can receive up to 200 percent of their target bonus amount, says Mr. Schneier.

In the mid-1990s, Eric Herzog was director of marketing for a computer-hardware-storage company in Silicon Valley that paid its senior executives salaries only. Mr. Herzog says he wanted the potential to earn more money, so he told the chief executive officer that the company might be more successful if it created an annual bonus plan for executives that was tied to revenue and profit goals.

He explained that every executive had the ability to influence profits and that the plan could be designed so that bonus awards would be distributed only if the company made more money. Having all six of the company’s executives in the plan was key, because then they would aim toward common goals, Mr. Herzog says he told the CEO.

The CEO agreed and created a bonus plan tied to revenue and profit objectives. “We hit the goals, and I received 20 percent over my base pay,” says Mr. Herzog, now a vice president of product management, channel marketing and communications for Maxtor Corp., a computer-hardware-storage company in Scotts Valley, Calif.

It’s hard to increase the size of your target bonus once you’ve accepted a job. But when negotiating with a new employer, you might be able to swap a higher salary for a larger target award amount, Ms. Sejen says. Suppose the employer offers you a $100,000 salary and a target bonus of 10 percent of salary. You could counteroffer that you’d take a $95,000 salary if your bonus-award target was 20 percent of it. Your annual target pay then would be $114,000 instead of $110,000. “An employer might be willing to change the pay mix,” Ms. Sejen says.

3. SEEK FINANCIAL ADVICE

Executives who are skilled at running their companies often aren’t so skilled at managing their own finances. Many could benefit from financial counseling so they know what to do with their stock options, restricted stock plans and other long-term incentives, says Mr. Dorf of Compensation Resources.

“Most executives, if pushed, would say they are financially challenged when it comes to doing their own deals and could use a financial counselor to advise them,” he says.

One little-known Internal Revenue Service regulation allows executives to pay tax on the value of restricted stock when they receive their grants. This may help lower capital-gains taxes when you sell the stock.

A counselor can also help you determine when it’s most beneficial to exercise stock options and whether to do so with cash or trade stock you already own. Using appreciated stock to exercise options may be better than using cash, because you reduce your taxable gain on the existing shares, notes Mr. Dorf.

“I estimate that 75 percent of the executives I know do not know what they earn from year to year because it’s coming from so many sources,” Mr. Dorf says. “They could be smarter about it.”

4. LEARN ABOUT SPECIAL COMMISSIONS OR AWARDS

Many employers pay one-time bonuses to employees who bring in new business or refer candidates for hard-to-fill company jobs.

After taking a break from the work force, Deirdre Carey joined Kel & Partners, a Westborough, Mass., marketing-services company, as director of client services last year, accepting a salary that was lower than her prior pay. After her employer offered all employees a 15 percent commission for landing new clients, Ms. Carey brought in a $10,000-a-month account, garnering a $1,500-a-month salary increase for 12 months, or $18,000 total. “I’m already starting to work on some other new business,” she says.
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