A few pointers to slam-dunk your next face-to-face meeting!

• Research the hiring company prior to your interview.
• Prepare at least three questions you have about the job and company.
• Arrive early but not more than 15 minutes before your appointment.
• Dress conservatively. Avoid strong perfumes/aftershaves and excessive jewelry.
• Don’t bring other people to the interview.
• Bring extra copies of your resume.
• Turn cell phone off.
• Smile, make eye contact, and offer a firm handshake.
• Focus on your strengths and how you can help the company.
• Speak positively about current and former employers, colleagues and jobs.
• Address salary, benefits and time-off policies ONLY if the interviewer initiates the topic.
• Let them know if you are impressed with the company and want the job.
• Promptly send a thank-you email to all who were present at the meeting.
• Call Pinto Employment as soon as possible afterwards.

GOOD LUCK!

In a world where technology advances at the speed of light, and two-year olds are proficient with iPhones, it’s important for all of us – especially job seekers – to make sure our computer skills are up-to-date.  This is not to suggest that we all need to run out and learn how to write code or build a website (unless those are the types of jobs we’re interviewing for!), but we definitely need to know our way around universally used programs like MS Office, Outlook, Power Point, etc.  And with video conferencing a normal and convenient part of conducting business around the world, familiarity with programs such as Skype is also imperative.

We’ve seen otherwise qualified, management-level candidates passed over for positions because they copped to not knowing how to run an Excel report, or couldn’t figure out how to download and set up a Skype account.  We understand that new programs can be intimidating, and there seem to be an infinite number of functions and ways to screw everything up.  Getting over it is a simple matter of practice.  Take a class, or dive right in and teach yourself.  Many years ago, I taught myself Power Point so that I wouldn’t sweat bullets every time I was asked to create a presentation!

Learning a new program may seem daunting at first, but it really will be professionally rewarding once you know it.  Companies will view you as sharper than the competition, and that’s just the impression you need to make to stay ahead of the pack!

Just as you would not want your figure-shaping unmentionables to show, so should you take the same care to not expose the template used to make your resume look so pretty.  Many a cover letter, resume or application has been received with its skeleton showing.  For example:

• A resume that shows the word “Header” where the header is.
• A cover letter that gushes about how badly you want to work for, literally, “insert company name here.”

This is so easy to avoid!  Before submitting these important representations of your career and goals, follow these steps:

1. Proofread your document to make sure template instructions like “Type phone number here” are gone.
2. Save in a Normal or “Read-Only” mode (for submission).
3. Have someone else read it before sending out.

We understand that sometimes these templates and features are unwieldy, and there are a million of them!  Who hasn’t wanted to toss their computer out the window because the margins weren’t cooperating, or the line spacing was off by a millimeter?  Pinto Employment is here to help.  We will write your resume and send you a clean, usable MS Word document – the pretty picture.  See the Resume Writing section of our website for more information!