The Triad Tipster - Fall 2003

Information for you and your career...

“I got an Interview!”

The last couple of years have been extremely difficult for many in the Engineering disciplines.  Few available jobs and a large pool of talented people has made every job opening a ‘free-for-all’ for qualified (and sometimes unqualified) candidates.   You have followed some of Triad’s tips, improved your resume format, sent emails, followed them up, kept your name current with 3 or 4 recruiters, and you finally got an interview.  Now what?

When working with a recruiter, he or she should provide you with information about the company where you will be interviewing.  Sometimes the recruiter has worked with the client before and has visited the work site.  Do not be afraid to ask your recruiter questions.  He or she may not be able to answer all of them immediately, but you should be given answers prior to the interview. Your recruiter should provide you with directions, contact name and title, job description and phone number. 

Once you have the information from your recruiter, go to the company’s website.  READ through the whole site.  Familiarize yourself with the company’s products and any recent press releases.

On the day of the interview be no more than 5-10 minutes early.  Dress professionally.  Jeans or other casual clothes aren’t acceptable even if the company is casual.  A shirt and tie or a nice blouse, dress pants or skirt is mandatory.  Have with you a portfolio of your work, a page of references, and a list of questions you would like to ask.  Bring paper on which to make additional notes as the conversation progresses.  This will help you focus additional questions at the end of the interview.  Two common interviewing mistakes are rambling and avoiding a question. To avoid these pitfalls, answer each question as precisely and concisely as you can, then wait for the next question.  Do not discredit previous employers; rather, be diplomatic regardless of how your employment ended.  If this job is the one you want… show it!  There is nothing wrong with showing eagerness and enthusiasm during an interview.  Both can be done in a professional manner and go a long way with managers.  After the interview, be sure to follow up with your recruiter and feel free to send a note to forward on to the hiring manager thanking them for their time. 

Be confident that you did your best... that is all anyone can do!

Have you looked at your resume lately?

(Part 6)

In the past couple of years candidates have become very creative with their resumes.  Some even have multiple versions of their resumes that they use to market themselves in several fields of work.  So why not have two or three resumes, each hi-lighting different skills or experiences?  Not a good idea when working with agencies.

Recruiters are your agents and the most effective way to work with them is using clear communication.  Most agencies scan  resumes into a database, as discussed in previous Tipsters.  If you submit multiple resumes, the files will overlap each another, creating a virtual mess for the recruiter.  Using nicknames and aliases to get more than one file in the recruiter’s system doesn’t result in more job submittals.  Once noticed, duplicate files are deleted immediately from the systems.  

Clients are eager to see that a contractor has a steady track record of work in the area in which the client has the need.  Most candidates with multiple versions of their resume do not show a steady work history on each resume.  Also, dates of employment are usually missing — a huge mistake when looking for contract work. 

Finally, recruiters tend to look at multiple resumes with negative  feelings.  The most successful resumes portray a candidate’s capabilities in a straight forward manner.  More than one resume looks almost duplicitous.   The best strategy is to have a resume with solid and complete job descriptions for the last ten years of work.  Then, work with a recruiter to tailor the resume as necessary for specific job openings.

Let the recruiter work the angles and slants on your experience to get the interview for you.

(Next issue: Tailor the resume to fit the job?)